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Blog - Madeleine Goutard

We are pleased to announce that we have republished the influential book by Madeleine Goutard, 'Mathematics and Children'. It was first published in 1964 and remains as powerful now as it was then.

The following review, which describes the impact the book has had upon, is by Caroline Ainsworth, a Primary Maths Specialist Teacher in Devon.

"This is a truly inspirational book whose ideas and theory I use daily in my work as a Specialist Primary maths teacher. Reading this book transformed the way I thought about teaching maths and has resulted in a far more rewarding and creative experience for me and, I hope, for the children I teach. I have learnt from Goutard to really listen to children and discovered that children's potential for learning in mathematics is limitless. She reveals to the reader how children from a very young age can be introduced to the underlying structure of mathematics and its rich interrelatedness, through simple, child-centred activities and skilled questioning. In short, she explains exactly how to bring a child to mastery of the subject.

In this book, Madeleine Goutard describes her creative, yet mathematically rigorous use of Cuisenaire rods to teach mathematics. Reading this alongside Dr Gattegno's Numbers in Colour series, I found her descriptions of lessons invaluable for implementing the approach in my own classroom. I learnt how mathematical signs can be introduced to very young children, giving them the tools from an early stage to express their mathematical ideas and explore mathematics at an increasingly complex level. Although still in awe of Goutard's remarkable achievements (children in her classes as young as 7 wrote with confidence and accuracy using all four operations, fractions, powers, roots and brackets,) I have watched the children I teach write their own maths ideas with increasing flexibility and a deeper understanding of calculation than I had previously thought possible.

Goutard sees to the heart of any difficulties children may have with mathematics and shares her methods for bringing children to a clearer understanding. I have used her approach with many children who find maths difficult and am always struck by how quickly, even with no previous experience of using the rods, the child gains confidence and understanding. Her descriptions of lessons reveal the curiosity and confidence of her children and their deep engagement with the subject. We hear their thoughts and ideas and the skilful way Goutard receives and values them.

For the teacher, Goutard provides quite simply an outstanding role-model for maths teaching."

We are pleased to be able to offer a limited number of copies of the influential book by Madeline Goutard at a reduced price.The book, Talks for Primary School Teachers, looks at the work of Dr Caleb Gattegno is a lucid commentary on the teaching approach to be adopted with the Cuisenaire Rods, written by a [...]